SUV Review: 2013 Land Rover LR4

Land Rover LR4 perfect for treks in Sudan (or to the grocery store)

By David Booth, Postmedia News

Originally published: June 27, 2013

SMALL

MEDIUM

LARGE

Where once all Land Rover products were built like this, the LR4 now becomes an anomaly amongst its peers. No, I’m not talking about the its style, shape or even its performance, but rather that the LR4 will soon become the only Land Rover product sold in Canada with a separate body and frame.

The Range Rover went unibody in its BMW-inspired remake and has since, too much fanfare, leap-frogged the entire SUV world with its advanced aluminum unibody chassis. The Range Rover Sport, until now a visual twin to the Range Rover built on the LR4’s body-and-frame chassis, is about to do the same. And, of course, the company’s sport cutes, the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover LR2 have featured unibody construction from the get-go. That leaves the once mainstream LR4 (nee Discovery) as the outlier in the Land Rover Canada’s lineup.

For traditionalists, especially those whose daily commute means trekking through the Sudan, that means the LR4 boasts all Land Rover’s traditional attributes and abilities. It is tall so that there might be both ground clearance and headroom to spare. It’s also imposing and has an air of invincibility, important to those who, again, traipse through the Sudan.

Indeed, though this particular test didn’t involve any crashing through underbrush or crawling over rocks, I can attest to the fact that there are few off-road trails that will challenge an LR4 and, by the time the Land Rover has broken a sweat, the rest of the off-road set (save perhaps for a well-driven Jeep Wrangler) has long since packed it in. Ground clearance, suspension travel and articulation, approach and departure angles and traction have all been optimized so that the LR4, despite its pretensions to luxury, is happy bogging through mud.

Indeed, to make it all easier for the Bay Street set, Land Rover now has a Terrain Response system that automatically sets various parameters — suspension, differentials, traction control, ride height, etc. — in response to five different settings: General, Mud/Ruts, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Sand and Rock Crawl. Yes, setting up your Land Rover for off-roading is now as simple as making the pretty picture on the centre console’s twirly knob match the pretty picture you see from your window. And despite the upgrades to the recent Range Rover, the LR4 is still the company’s king of off-roading (at least here in North America where the Defender is not available) with superior approach and departure angles as well as ramp break-over angles than its luxury sibling.

That said, the LR4’s relatively archaic chassis design does mean it weighs some 350 kilograms more than the equivalent Range Rover. That means it’s more than a second slower than the aluminum-bodied Range Rover to 100 kilometres an hour and also consumes more gas. Ride and handling are also affected, though the former more than the latter. Indeed, considering that it was designed first and foremost for traipsing over yonder hill and dale, it’s actually quite amazing. Large anti-roll bars, relatively firm damping and stiff bushings mean the LR4 handles better than anything almost as tall as the Empire State building has a right to.

The penalty to be paid for this combination of off-road ability and on-road handling is in the ride department. Oh, the suspension is plenty accommodating over large bumps and potholes, but, in the sharp creases that are typified by frost heaves and road junctions, the LR4’s suspension is overly firm. Indeed, over particularly worn parts of Ontario’s Highway 401 on the way to Montreal, the LR4 does a fair impression of a hobby-horse.

The other aspect of the LR4’s comportment affected by all that avoirdupois (the LR4 weighs 2,567 kg) is fuel economy, Natural Resources Canada rating it at 17.1 L/100 km in the city, 11.6 on the highway. I averaged 12.8 L/100 km at a steady 120 kilometres an hour, not the worst we’ve seen, but hardly frugal.

Otherwise, the LR4’s performance is fine. A 7.9-second run to 100 km/h might not sound sports car like, but in something the size of the Land Rover it’s pretty darned impressive, especially since, unlike so many of the current luxury set (including the Range Rover), the LR4’s 5.0-litre V8 is naturally aspirated. Its 375 horsepower is more than adequate in all circumstances.

Where the LR4 has dramatically improved over the years is cabin decor. Once very much the Range Rover’s poor cousin, continual upgrades have seen the LR4 become somewhat luxurious in its own right. Leather abounds and the dashboard, audio and infotainment systems are excellent (though it does lack the Range Rover’s TFT-screen gauge set). For 2013, that hedonism is augmented by an Extended Leather Package, which adds glove-like Windsor leather to the top of the dashboard and doors, armrest and grab handles and also around the instrument cluster.

Indeed, the interior’s only downside is the inclusion of a third row of seats (standard on the top-end LUX model, optional for the HSE) in an attempt to make the LR4 a minivan alternative, an odd choice since the LR4 is also Land Rover’s most bona fide off-roader. While the seating is indeed fairly roomy enough for adults even in its third row, the necessity for high ground clearance, not to mention the small rear door, make getting into those rear seats problematic. Think of them as emergency perches for the young and limber. Trunk space, when the third row seats are in place, is a Miata-like 9.9 cubic feet. Of course, fold them down and 42 cu. ft. become available. And that trek down to the Sudan may be made easier because, assuming there’s just you and a navigator, there’s a whopping 90.3 cubic feet available when the second row seats are folded as well.

In the end, the LR4 is both competent and luxurious, trading some convenience (i.e. a tall step-in height) and ride for the ultimate in off-road ability. I’m not convinced, despite Land Rover’s offer of seating for seven, of its role as a minivan alternative, but its combination of hedonism and go (absolutely) anywhere ability make it an attractive option. Even if you’re not driving to the Sudan.